The Golden State Warriors are 24-24 on the season, but that record doesn’t quite do justice to how far out of the championship picture they are in their current state. They started the season 9-2, but are 13-22 since. Their net rating in that span is minus-3.7. What’s more distressing? They aren’t even dominating the Stephen Curry minutes anymore. His net rating of plus-2.8 suggests that even at their best, the Warriors are only around an average team.
They badly want to change that. With Curry nearing his 37th birthday, Golden State has a limited window to put one last contender around him before the end of his legendary career. It seems a though they are doing everything in their power to do just that. ESPN’s Shams Charania said Monday on the Pat McAfee Show, they “are legitimately calling about every All-Star player” ahead of the NBA trade deadline on Thursday. Three players he names specifically? LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Paul George.
James would be the hardest of the three to acquire simply because he has a no-trade clause. He can veto any trade, and according to Chris Haynes, he plans to finish the season in Los Angeles. The Warriors pursued a James trade last deadline, but when the Lakers reached out to him to gauge his interest in a deal, he told them he preferred to remain in Los Angeles. Until there is some indication that he is open-minded about a move, the assumption should be that he will stay with the Lakers.
Bringing Durant back to the Bay would be expensive, but according to Jake Fischer, the Suns are at least listening to pitches from other teams and have a level of interest in Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga. Durant spent three seasons with the Warriors and never missed the NBA Finals while there. If Golden State could get him, it could change their fortunes dramatically.
They tried to land George before he became an unrestricted free agent this offseason, but the Clippers would not agree to a trade that included bad salary. Now George is having an up-and-down first season with the Philadelphia 76ers, and his four-year max deal looms as a potentially dangerous contract given his age and injury history. There has been no reporting suggesting that the 76ers would trade him, but for the right price, doing so might make sense.
Golden State pursued Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler in recent days. However, Butler’s reluctance to sign a contract extension reportedly ended those talks.
If the Warriors are exploring every superstar that could conceivably be available, there are plenty of other feasible options. Zion Williamson, for example, has been in trade rumors this season. If Golden State thinks it can get him healthy, he would be a strong fit next to Curry. Another Pelican, Brandon Ingram, is set for free agency this offseason and it doesn’t seem as though the Pelicans plan to re-sign him. Heck, Luka Doncic wasn’t believed to be available before he was dealt. It never hurts to call other teams and just check in on stars to see if they could be had for the right price.
If this is indeed the end of the Curry era in Golden State, the Warriors seem as though they plan to go down swinging. If there’s a star trade out there for them to make, they’ll do what it takes to find it.
